POSTERIOR TECHNIQUE:
Hand, Arm & Back (Right Side Only)

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1.  Palm of the Hand:

• Practitioner Position:

Stand at S3. Use both your feet on recipient’s palm.

• Sarga Wrapping Technique:

Double or Single Shoulder Wrap.

• Stroke Direction & Foot Mechanics:

Use your big toe and pad of the foot on recipient’s palm with pressure moving down and out, opening tissue of the palm like a book. If able, you may slide the recipient’s thumb between your big toe and second toe to work on the thenar eminence.

• Target Tissue:

Palm of the hand, thenar eminence, hypo-thenar eminence.

• Considerations & Contraindications:

Do not apply direct pressure on the wrist joint or stand with full weight on the fingers. Be careful not to direct pressure towards the wrist, causing it to bend.

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2.  Forearm:

• Practitioner Position:

Stand at S3 facing the head of the table. Standing foot left, working foot right. Stabilize the recipient’s hand by lightly pinning the fingers with your toes/ball of your standing foot while using your right foot to work on the forearm.

• Sarga Wrapping Technique:

Double or Single Shoulder Wrap.

• Stroke Direction & Foot mechanics:

Begin slightly above the recipient’s wrist with the pad of the foot, work up towards the elbow and pivot (heel out) around the middle of the recipient’s forearm, ending with your lateral arch before the elbow. To come back down, pivot back and forth on the lateral arch of your foot, working towards the wrist, or simply pick up and begin again above the wrist.

• Target Tissue:

Forearm flexors.

• Considerations & Contraindications:

Do not apply pressure directly on the wrist or the elbow joint!

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3.  Standing Deltoid & Infraspinatus:

• Practitioner Position:

Stand at S6 on the yoga mat between the face cradle and the right corner of the massage table facing the foot of the table. Standing foot right, working foot left.

• Sarga Wrapping Technique:

Double or Single Shoulder Wrap.

• Stroke Direction & Foot Mechanics:

Begin with your toes/pad of the foot at recipient’s posterior deltoid and gently roll the deltoid tissue up and over the head of the humerus until your heel reaches infraspinatus. Continue the stroke posteriorly, with the arch of your foot over the medial border of the recipient’s scapula, using your heel to affect infraspinatus.

• Target Tissue:

Posterior deltoid, infraspinatus.

• Considerations & Contraindications:

Watch the spine of the recipient’s scapula to make sure that you are not taking tissue laterally. Work gently in this sensitive area. Do not drop down to the nerve plexus of the medial upper arm. ​

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4.  Back ("Chevron"):

• Practitioner Position:

Stand at S1 facing the foot of the table at an angle with your standing foot against the recipient’s shoulder/upper arm. Standing foot right, working foot left.

• Sarga Wrapping Technique:

Harness.

• Stroke Direction & Foot Mechanics:

Begin at the lower angle of the recipient’s scapula. Working transversely, take tissue laterally to medially, working towards the spine with the leading edge of your heel, completing a half-chevron (See "Chevroning" in terminology). Your forefoot will cross the spine with little to no pressure. This is a very slow, oblique, high friction stroke! Repeat 4-6 times moving inferiorly towards the sacrum. At the lower ribs, begin to target lateral iliocostalis and quadratus lumborum. Continue over the top of the sacrum and finish with slight traction. Do not compress the lumbar spine with downward pressure; it is important to target this area with oblique contacts.

• Target Tissue:

Erector group, latissimus dorsi, thoracolumbar fascia.

• Considerations & Contraindications:

Do not apply direct downward pressure on the secondary curve of the lumbar spine, especially when the recipient has lower back considerations (See Bolstering & Recipient Body Positioning). Bolster appropriately if the recipient has large breasts or breast implants. Note that having your Sarga Strap at its correct length is most critical for this stroke.  

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5.  Trapezius & Paraspinals:

• Practitioner Position: 

Stand at S6 facing the foot of the table at a 45-degree angle towards the left between the face cradle and the right corner of the massage table. Standing foot right, working foot left.

• Sarga Wrapping Technique:

Double or single Shoulder Wrap.

• Stroke Direction & Foot Mechanics: 

Begin with your toes/ball of your foot at the recipient’s upper trapezius, superior to the superior angle of the scapula (depending on your ankle flexibility) and “scoop” as much of the upper trapezius tissue, taking it inferiorly. Move through the rhomboids with the medial edge of your foot parallel to the spine.  At the lower angle of the scapula, turn your foot perpendicular to the recipient’s spine with their spine at the apex of your arch. Keep the full plantar surface of your foot in contact with the recipient’s tissue as you continue down the paraspinals. Continue all the way down the back, lightening pressure over the lumbar spine, finally creating gentle traction on the sacrum by leaning into the Sarga Strap and extending through your working leg.

• Target Tissue:

Trapezius, rhomboids, levator scapula, erector group, thoracolumbar fascia.

• Considerations & Contraindications: 

Do not apply direct pressure on the curvature of the lumbar spine.

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